Sit-in action in front of the EP in support of Kurdish political prisoners in Turkey

Sit-in action in front of the European Parliament

ANF - Brussels- A sit-in has begun in front of the European Parliament in support of hunger strikes by Kurdish political prisoners in Turkey. Since it began in September, more than 700 people in Turkish prisons have joined the hunger strike.

The president of KONGRA GEL Remzi Kartal; lawyer Mahmut Sakar; artist Jawad Marwanid; Germany Left Party deputies Cansu Ozdemir and Ali Dağdeviren; author Mustafa Pekoz; Nuce TV’s Erdal Er, Ferda Çetin, and journalists; as well as many Kurdish politicians, journalists and intellectuals launched a sit-in in front of the European Parliament building in Brussels.

Kurdish people living in Belgium have came out to support the sit-in at the European Parliament.

The activists made the following appeal


"URGENT APPEAL TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT
STOP THE DEATHS IN TURKEY’S PRISONS IMMEDIATELY, ACCEPT THE PRISONERS` DEMANDS!


680 political prisoners in 58 Turkey prisons have started an irreversible and indefinite hunger strike since 12 September 2012. On the other hand, the numbers of new participants to the strike have increased with each passing day. At the current moment many prisoners are approached the critical point of death.
In pursuit of their demands of providing health, security and freedom conditions for Mr. Abdullah Ocalan, the Kurdish Leader who is jailed in solitary confinement; recognition of the use of the Kurdish native language in education and during defence in courts, the hunger strikes have already arrived at a critical moment. The prisoners have stated in all their press releases that they are quite determined to struggle until the end unless their demands are met. We have been considering the demands of the strikers who are at death’s door at the moment, within the context of finding a solution of the Kurdish question and thus leading to an improvement of democracy and the human rights conditions in Turkey.
We, the Kurds in Kurdistan, Europe and friends of the Kurds, have had grave concerns that the prisoners have already arrived at death`s door and their demands have not been accepted yet. Under these conditions of human and conscious deterioration, the Kurds are about to express waves of indignation.
The AKP government’s approach to the hunger strikes is quite superficial and callous. Thus, the government has ignored the prospect of a crisis in Turkey which will soon be caused as a result of the hundreds of political prisoners’ hunger strike. The AKP government has obligations to carry out regarding to law, human rights and democracy in the context of the EU Accession Process. However, these obligations have not been performed for Kurds so far. In addition, it has increased the level of inhuman actions and torture against the rights of prisoners to resist. The strikers have been confined to their cells forcibly and faced torture and mistreatment. In this case, International Amnesty has criticized the AKP government and reminded it of international law. Unfortunately, the government has carried on its policy of denying and annihilating the Kurds.
The EU Parliament stated in its last progress report that the AKP government had not performed its duties and obligations towards human rights, democracy and rule of law in the context of negotiation regarding the accession process. If any international institutions or communities have tolerated in any way the AKP government, they will directly be signaling approval to the deaths of political prisoners. We, as Kurdish politicians, journalists, authors, artists and soon all representatives of Kurdish society, call on the EU Parliament and the EU Commission to take action immediately by adopting political and diplomatic sanctions in order to force the AKP Government to stop its genocidal politics against Kurds.
We demand the urgent release of Mr. Abdullah Ocalan and all political prisoners for the permanent solution of the Kurdish question and the democratization of Turkey.
We regard the ongoing hunger strikes in Turkish jails as part of our people's struggle for freedom and democracy and identifies with the prisoners' demands. We therefore demand the urgent release of Mr. Abdullah Ocalan and all political prisoners, because of their struggle for democracy in Turkey and lasting peace in the Kurdish issue.
We call the EU Parliament to send two ad hoc parliamentary delegations to Turkey. One delegation should visit the Kurdish People’s Leader Mr. Abdullah Ocalan. Mr. Ocalan is since 15 months under solitude confinement. The second delegation is for visiting the hunger strikers in Turkish prisons. We are going to continue our sitting protest until our demands are going to be carried out.




Solidarity with Hunger Strikes in Turkey , Kurdish people Initiative. "
29.10.2012